Quality when it counts …

A SMALL SELECTION OF GIRLS AT WATERMARK …

The girls at Watermark have been carefully, over a period of many years, selected for the traditional quality a Gypsy Cob should have. They are equally, if not more important than the stallions we breed from. Each mare must be conformationally as perfect as we can find, but still maintain the true to type characteristics of a good cob. Every mare brings something special to our breeding program, and regardless of which stallion is chosen, they should reproduce themselves and better.

Watermark does not chase certain breeding lines, or it chase colour, each mare is selected as an individual and purely on conformation, soundness and temperament.

We prefer the traditional colours, piebald (black and white), skewbald (red and white), bay and white and tri-bays (bay, white and black) and a good blagdon. Ninety nine percent of the mares are homozygous tobiano and are guaranteed to throw the stunning coat pattern the cobs are known for.

The beautiful ladies at Watermark, have an abundance of hair, manes in most cases reaching to there knees, copious amounts of thick flowing feather and tails as thick as your arms can hold.

The Watermark Gypsy Cobs live in the heart of Celtic Country. The flora and fauna is simply breathtaking, the trees provide natural shade from sun and wind protection during the windy, colder months.

The Watermark herd have copious amounts of space to play, graze, and socialise. Paddocks are re-seeded annually to ensure a good variety is always available and quality pastures are maintained.

Fresh natural spring fed lakes are available in all paddocks, whereby, you will often see the Watermark horses playing or swimming.

Gypsy Cobs are notoriously easy keepers, "living off the smell of an oily rag" my father used to say, and that about sums it up really. Providing a good quality mineral supplement into all paddocks being grazed, salt blocks, fresh water, and quality grazing, the girls thrive and bounce with good health.

All the girls are regularly wormed, feet trimmed every six to eight weeks, and are usually bathed at least three times a year. Vaccination boosters are given in the spring and six weeks prior to foaling - this will ensure the unborn foal has good titre levels prior to birth.

The girls and foals will remain close by until the foal is approximately 10 days of age, whereby, once we ensure, good health, the mares and foals will be turned out to good quality grazing.

At the beginning of spring, the girls are brought down from the winter quarters, and are given a full medical inspection by our veterinarian practice, they will also be re-scanned for viable pregnancies and to ensure the fetus is growing well. The girls will be bathed, groomed to within an inch of their lives, feet trimmed, given any treatments necessary, and then be split into due date groups and monitored closely until the birth of the foal.

Girls coming in for farrier, worming, teeth checks, bathing and general hands on time before being turned away for winter.